What made you want to start drumming?

I was listening to Jazz and Bossa Nova records since i was born and loved it and wanted to be part of the process...

Alex 3 Years Old 1961 Letters.jpg

And did it...

 
Welcome back Alex-long time no see. I was wondering how you were dealing with pandemic in Spain.
 
Growing up and listening to WABC AM radio in New York City had a great impact on me. I listened to all the popular hits of the mid sixties on. I had two older sisters that got transistor radios when they first came out and their listening to the radio and getting records from the record clubs by mail were an influence. So, I guess my then secret drummer influence was Hal Blaine! And then there was Ringo and the Beatles on Ed Sullivan on TV of course.
I took coronet lessons to start with in the fourth grade but we moved overseas and that stopped. We moved to Rio De Janeiro in 1968 and my oldest sister saw a classified ad for a student model snare drum for $75.00. It was a1966 Ludwig Acrolite with the student kit and case. It included the stand, brushes, sticks and lesson book(s). An American girl student bought it new and brought it with her when she moved to Brazil from the U.S.. She anticipated learning how to play but changed her mind before she even used it. It was brand new and completely unused. My sister showed the ad to my parents and they decided to buy it for me. I joined the school band at the private American school in the fifth grade and got lessons from the maestro/band director.
 
What’s wrong with this picture? With the bass drum on a riser he has to be using a barstool for a throne. Can’t see how he would play the hihat if there is one. 🤔🤷‍♂️
I recently read about this. Mickey had a defect/anomaly with one of his legs and couldn't utilize it completely so he played the kick drum with the opposite foot.

Explaining his unorthodox set up I just found this on Wiki

"Dolenz suffered from Perthes disease as a child, affecting his hip joint and right leg, leaving that leg weaker (and shorter) than the other. This resulted in Dolenz adapting an unorthodox drum setup – right-handed and left-footed – in his musical career."
 
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Jethro Tull's Barriemore Barlowe and Clive Bunker. Also this which is most definitely not normally "in my wheelhouse":

 
Must've been my lack of financial knowledge.
 
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Realising I could weaponise my lifelong compulsion to follow the bass drum patterns of my favourite records with my tapping foot. And the bass drum is still the heart of the kit to me.
Also - realising that I might have a way to actually make music rather than just sing/dance to it.
 
I was a lil kid so the music of 60’s grabbed me and like Forrest Gump i liked that Geetar I started moving my hips to the music and because I didn’t have leg braces I could move my legs and arms. My Dad bought a Ludwig drum kit in 1963 and we set it so up i got on it and took to it like peas and carrots. Like it’s the keyhole and I the key- we just fit. I took to sax too but my key didn’t fit that hole as well.
 
I started recorder to trumpet. From there in band class I saw the guitarist and drummer in the back and thought they were pretty cool looking. So I picked it up. Started with one of those plastic gray remo practice pads I think.

From there I did bass drum in music class, I was still a novice sheet music reader so snare drum made me feel too embarrassed to play. But there were times were I would need to, so that exposure I suppose was good.

I was then introduced to Slipknot - Left Behind, and that along with Joey Jordison is the reason I asked for a drumset. Suppose I should thank my folks.
 
When I was eight my father & I went to his friend’s Christmas party and the boy there (older than I) had just got a red sparkle drum kit. It dazzled me. Then he played the floor tom and my balls dropped. Later in the evening he let me sit behind the kit and I did what every noob does: tap lightly. I was hooked.
 
My neighbour who was just 3 years older then me and i looked up to him, he is a bad ass bass player now and not a drummer. He is the reason that made we want to play the drums back then
 
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